Barbara Gregorich - Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel: Lots of Examples, Plus Dead Bodies

Just as fishermen cast a net to spread over a large area and gather the fish therein, you want to cast suspicion over a number of characters in your novel. You want to cast suspicion over the characters you have chosen as your suspects (three to six of them), and, in addition, you want to cast suspicion on other characters in the book. Let's call these other characters outliers — people who seem to be outside the scope of the main plot and the main suspicions, but are still possible of being the villains. In fact, whether or not you deliberately cast suspicion on an outlier, some readers will conclude that a certain outlier is the murderer.

When writing, feel free to cast suspicion over many of the characters in your book. Feel even freer to cast it often. Once just won't do. Readers may forget one incident, but they won't forget a buildup of incidents, one after the other.

When I wrote Dirty Proof I tried to cast suspicion on all of the main characters. But by the time I was writing Sound Proof I had learned enough to plan and control whom I wanted readers to suspect. Because there are two main solutions in Sound Proof — the solution of the murder and the solution of the instrument thefts — I made two separate charts of suspects. For the purposes of this book, I'll reproduce only one of these working charts: the chart of murder suspects.

In order to make my writing more effective (to cast suspicion where I wanted it cast), I listed which characters I definitely wanted the reader to suspect. These are under Yes. I also wanted a large group of Maybe characters: some readers would suspect these people, some wouldn't. And I wanted to be aware of which characters readers most likely would not suspect. These I labeled Probably Not.

Who the reader suspects is mostly (but not entirely) under your control. Consider who you want the reader to suspect, and write accordingly. Consider who you don't want the reader to suspect, and write accordingly.

— from "Casting Suspicion," Chapter 12 of Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel: Lots of Examples, Plus Dead Bodies

Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel: Lots of Examples, Plus Dead Bodies

Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel: Lots of Examples, Plus Dead Bodies consists of twenty-five chapters which can be read as stand-alone information accessed in any order, or which can be read as written by the author, from first to last, recreating her thinking about how she plots and writes a mystery novel. For ease of recall and cross-referencing, the book also contains an index. Buy now.

Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel: Lots of Examples, Plus Dead Bodies is an accessible primer for writers of all skill and experience levels. Although especially geared to the subtleties of mystery and crime writing, Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel is packed with tips, tricks, and techniques that any aspiring author will find invaluable. Chapters discuss setting the scene of the crime, casting suspicion and planting clues, handling subplots and plot complications, how to disguise motive/means/opportunity, when to introduce the villain, managing the flow of dialogue, and much more, with numerous, illuminating examples. . . . Especially recommended for first-time mystery writers!

— Midwest Book Review, Small Press Bookwatch

This "how-to" book is intended for mystery/detective writers, but much of the advice crosses genres. The book covers murder-mystery specific insights into planting clues, setting the scene of the crime, and where to place focus when it comes to motive, means, and opportunity. Better than that, the book also covers cross-genre topics like point of view, pacing, and dialogue tips. . . .

I especially liked the examples where Gregorich provides examples of points of view (POV), including first-person and third-person singular, multiple, and plural.

— Cronin Detzz, Windy City Reviews

This book covers every aspect of novel writing in twenty-five chapters with a specific eye on mysteries, but for a beginning writer, this can be a good general guide to the art of the novel. . . . It is written in a comfortable, easy-to-follow style and is chock full of examples from Gregorich's own mysteries as well as some from other writers. Her knowledge of the writing process shines through on every page and the information will be invaluable for beginning writers in any genre, but especially for those attempting the difficult task of mystery writing.

— Rosi Hollinbeck, San Francisco Book Review

Even though I have no ambitions or plans to write a mystery novel, reading this guide was both educational and entertaining. I knew I would like this book because I am interested in writing and the process used in writing. I never imagined all the elements that need to be considered in writing a novel, including the specific considerations when writing a mystery.

I got a lot out of the discussion of first person POV and third person POV and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The author not only discusses a variety of topics related to writing a mystery, but also addresses why these steps are useful.

— Bitter Tea and Mystery Blog